Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Oral arguments heard in case that could have biggest impact on elections since Citizens United.

"“If the Court sides with the plaintiff in McCutcheon v. FEC
and overturns aggregate contribution limits, a single individual could
spend as much as $3.6 million on a single election, enough to buy the
attention of the president and every single member of Congress,” warned citizen advocacy group Common Cause. "The potential for corruption—indeed its inevitability— if those
limits are removed is clear and present and more than sufficient to
justify keeping them in place," the group added. Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen,
echoed the warning, saying that "If the court decides to strike down
limits on what an individual can give directly to candidates, parties
and PACs, the real-world impact is plain enough. A few hundred people
will be empowered to spend millions to buy elections."

Already, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) noted on Tuesday, “We are living
in a society where a handful of people with incredible sums of money
like the Koch brothers and others are undermining what this democracy is
supposed to be about.” Weissman said that if the caps are struck down, "We will see a rise
in corruption both as the public understands the term – meaning the
entire political system will shift still more to favor the super-rich –
and as the Supreme Court defines it – meaning quid pro quo corruption.""